Chapter 5

By the time they walked to the library that evening, Rosalinde had learned much about her new friend. Erik Egavzu was a twenty-one-year-old young man. His parents were Vennan and Nesah Egavzu, two now retired, famous mercenaries. Rosalinde had read plenty about them. In her eyes, his parents were legends, real heroes. She aspired to be like them one day: to fight evil, protect those in need, and seek justice.

Erik told Rosalinde about a nasty encounter with a specter he had a couple of months prior to coming to Silverblade. He pointed to his streak of grey hair and said that it had appeared after the specter had touched him, the memory still gave him nightmares.

She learned that Erik enjoyed poetry, to read, not to write, he had immediately clarified, but that his parents thought it was a useless hobby. "You're wasting your time with this poetry nonsense. Use this time to improve your footwork," Erik said while imitating his father. Nevertheless, he had not given up on his hobby. The thought of showing him the poetry section in the library made Rosalinde very excited. The library was her happy place; she knew it would become his, too.

The library at Silverblade was shaped like an enormous upside-down T, neatly organised into different sections. Upon entering the library, you immediately hit the round front desk where Lady Wildbrush would sit, reading or puzzling until someone needed her help. She was an older dwarven woman with brown skin and short, curly, light brown hair. On her nose, a pair of big round golden glasses, and behind those dark brown eyes. She didn't talk much but knew exactly what book to advise Rosalinde to read next.

Behind the desk were steps leading to the basement, where students could study at long wooden tables in absolute silence, thanks to magic. On the left side was the restricted area. Only accessible to teachers or students who were under the watchful eye of one. Rosalinde had never been there. On the right side were all things fiction and poetry, Rosalinde's favourite area. In the long middle part of the library were rows and rows of bookshelves with books on all subjects; art, history, geography, biology, warfare, and many more.

Between the shelves were comfortable armchairs and small chairs with wooden stools for those who wanted to quickly scan through a book and make some notes. Halfway down the middle was a spiral staircase on either side of the room, leading to the balconies, where you could find even more books along the walls. Endless rows of books, all waiting to be read or studied. Rosalinde could never read them all; she wished she could. Sometimes, she wished she were elven, all the extra years she would have to read. It made her a little jealous of some of her fellow students.

When Rosalinde wasn't reading, she could stare at the painted ceilings for hours. They had been there even before the fortress was assigned as an academy. She had learned that the paintings told the stories of several major wars: The Blood War in Avernus, The Battle of The Sons in Freyra, The War of Ivory fought on the seas between Freyra and Aiteqas, and The Two-Hundred Year War up in the Screaming Mountains. The depictions of these wars were not for the faint-hearted; they were painted in extreme detail: Mountains of dead soldiers, fighting mercenaries, people on horseback charging into enemy lines, heroes holding weapons high in the sky, wizards throwing deadly spells at enemies, and clerics praying to their gods, asking for help and healing the wounded. Rosalinde thought the paintings gave her an accurate idea of what war looked like. She hoped that one day, she would be allowed to inspect the ceiling up close, hoping to find even more small details that she could not possibly spot with the naked eye from the ground floor.

Today, she and Erik were sitting in the back, underneath the depiction of the Blood Wars, near the big glass windows. It was dark and grey outside, so most of the light came from small orbs floating in the sky that emitted a warm yellow glow. Erik sat down in a big leather armchair across from her with a book titled "Short Poems by Jadivih Basham." She peaked out from over her book to see him hanging nonchalantly in the armchair, his black hair in front of his piercing light blue eyes. He was entirely focused on the words on the page before him. Rosalinde felt a sense of happiness. She wondered if this was what it was like to have a real friend.

That hurts Rosie. I thought I was your friend, Dex said.

You are my friend, my best friend, but it would be nice to have a friend in here, she replied quickly, feeling guilty for her thoughts. She felt Dex's presence fade and continued reading her book.

"Why is one of your eyes black?" The question was direct, sudden, and came out of nowhere. It overwhelmed her and made her stomach feel heavy. Rosalinde looked up from her book and saw Erik staring at her. "I hope you don't mind me asking," he said and quickly added a smile.

"Why are your eyes blue?" Rosalinde tried to counter.

"They are actually silver," Eric replied quickly, as he got up and came real close to her face, "look."

Rosalinde looked at his eyes. From a distance, they looked like a piercing light blue, but up close, she could see that they were grey with streaks of silver. "Can you even see with that eye?" Erik continued asking as he backed away a little.

"Yes," Rosalinde replied softly. She never talked with anyone about her eyes, not even with the person she got them from.

"We don't have to talk about it," Erik quickly said, sitting back in his chair, "I'm sorry for asking."

Rosalinde replied with a smile and picked up her book again. This boy made her nervous, she thought to herself. Why had he picked her to talk to, to show him around? Was he trying to assess if she was dangerous? Did he know something about her? About Dex? What if he knew? She had never met anyone in a similar position as she, but she had read about it. While uncommon, it wasn't that rare. She started to think about what she knew of her friend, her patron, as he had once called himself. Dex was a devil but unlike other devils. Not that she had met other devils, but she had read about them. Evil creatures that scheme and only think about themselves. Dex wasn't like that; he had good in him and was there for her. He had saved her. What if Erik hunts devils, and all this is a cover-up? And his end goal is to kill Dex…

He doesn't know, you can relax. Dex's soothing voice calmed her down, and she felt her body release a tension she hadn't realised she had started to build up. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up. Dex was staring intently at the tall, handsome boy across from her.

He might suspect there is something because of your gorgeous eyes, but there could be many reasons why you have those. Good genetics, for one, he said in Rosalinde's head and met her gaze. Don't worry too much about it... and if he gives you trouble…

She felt a slight change in his demeanour, from charming and relaxed to something darker. She wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but it looked like the lights went dim, and the shadows around her grew slightly taller. Dex's grip on her shoulders tightened. She could feel his nails digging into her skin, though it didn't hurt.

If he gives you trouble, I will deal with him, his voice deepened, like a low growl in her head.

She looked back at Erik, hanging in his chair again, casually reading.

No need, Dex; there is good in him, just like there is good in you.

She felt the darkness fade, the lights glowing a little brighter, the nails retracting, and the weight of his hands on her shoulders disappeared.

—-

That night, she lay in her room, tired but awake. She thought about the day and being in the library with Erik. She closed her eyes and pictured them both in the chairs. They had been in the library for a couple of hours, and she had occasionally looked over the edge of her book at Erik. She had studied him; who was this boy? She noticed how he would gently tab the armrest while reading. She saw that he would tilt his head slightly and grin every now and then. She assumed he did that when he enjoyed a particular phrase. When she asked him why he didn't write poetry, he said he enjoyed experiencing beauty.

When they said goodnight to each other, he gave her a hug and thanked her for showing him around. She smiled at the memory. She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling for a bit.

"Are you there?"Rosalinde whispered. She knew no one could hear her besides Dex, but she was still afraid of what people would do to hear if they found out she had a devil watching over her, so she always addressed him quietly.

It stayed silent. She tried to stay awake; she wanted to say goodnight to him. But no reply came. I wonder what he's doing, she thought before she fell asleep.

—-

It was mid-autumn, and the leaves outside went from green to yellow to every shade of orange and red. Rosalinde enjoyed these few weeks a year the most, not only because of the beauty of it but also because it was an agreeable temperature to wear her full armour in. The summer was too hot; sometimes, she thought she was getting cooked alive between all that metal. But winter was worse: Everything got cold and wet then, making her armour even heavier.

Erik had stayed by Rosalinde's side and had not asked any more questions about her eyes. But he was eager to learn every other thing about her. He wanted to know what books she read, the weapons she preferred in combat, why she trained to be a paladin, where she saw herself in 10 years and if she already knew what Oath she wanted to pick; the questions kept coming. But she didn't mind the questions and answered all of them patiently. She told him about the books her father used to bring back from his travels, explained why she preferred to use a maul and that she hated it when they made her train with a sword and shield. Rosalinde always felt like it messed with her balance and made her less mobile. The first few days, she hesitated to tell Erik about her parents, where they came from and what they did. But as she became more comfortable in his presence, she started to open up. She shared with Erik her parents' teachings: there is good in everyone and that if you give people the chance to show it, they will eventually let you see it. That night, she dreamt about the night before her parents had sent her to Silverblade.

"So you learn how to protect yourself and others," her father told her. "Paladins are good people, Rosie," he explained to her, "they are like the heroes in your book." He picked up A collection of fairy tales from Freyra and pointed at the woman on the cover.

"Will I become like her?" Rosalinde had asked.

"If you train hard, protect the people who need it the most, and believe that good will always triumph over bad, yes, you will become her. Just remember, there is good…" he said.

"... in everyone," she whispered, half asleep. Her father kissed her forehead and wished her sweet dreams.

When they weren't talking or hanging out in the library, they were sparring together. Their fighting styles were vastly different: Erik specialised in wielding two lighter weapons, such as rapiers, whereas Rosalinde preferred the heavy weight of a maul. Erik wore his father's old Studded Dragon Scale Armour that allowed him to move freely, and Rosalinde wore a heavy plate that she had bought at the beginning of the summer, which was great for protection but made it difficult to be quick and agile.

It was late; all the students were returning from the dining area, and Rosalinde was looking forward to lying in her bed. It had been a long week. Final exams were coming up, which meant that Rosalinde had spent extra time studying the Code of Virtue until late. She had never failed a written exam before, and she had no intention of failing the most crucial exam just before the finish line. Just before she had made her way up the stairs to the girl's quarters, Erik had asked Rosalinde to train with him after dinner. Their final combat exam was soon happening, and Erik tried convincing Rosalinde that it would be good to spend extra time reviewing different fighting techniques.

"Weirdly, you all focus so much on heavy two-handed weapons while wearing all that armour. There will be situations where you must improvise with a dagger or even less. And you won't always be wearing a plate either," he argued, "plus, you might not be fighting someone who fights like you. I can teach you my ways, and you can teach me more about yours."

She knew he was right, so even though she was exhausted and was dying to go to bed, she agreed and followed Erik to the sparring room. She took her time to put on her armour, just to give herself a few extra minutes of rest, before she walked to the fighting area, and she stood in front of a tireless Erik.

"One of the most important things when you dual-wield," Erik started, "is footwork. You need to be nimble to avoid attacks. Remember to stay light on your feet, pivot, sidestep, and create openings for counterattacks." It took some time to get used to being light on her feet and move quickly. Her armour also wasn't making it any easier. The metal made so much noise every time she jumped that she felt like a one-man band.

Erik stood confidently in front of her, a dagger in each hand. He showed her again how to create an opening by sidestepping. Every time he showed her how to do it, it looked so easy. Rosalinde knew she was getting better at it, but it would take months or even years of practice before she would be his equal. She admired him, his patience with her, his knowledge. He looks so elegant when he fights, almost like dancing. She thought to herself while Eric showed once again how to parry effectively. She found herself staring at his body, looking at how the armour looked like a second skin; it fitted perfectly and showed off his lean and athletic body. She never realised just how muscular he was. She tilted her head as she studied his face: He had defined cheekbones and a prominent jawline but still a soft and gentle face. His dark hair was dangling playfully in front of his face as he energetically explained how to place and move her feet. There was a passion in his eyes when he talked about fighting; it made his silver eyes shine even brighter. Rosalinde realised she wasn't listening to him anymore.

What is this now? Are we eyeing the new boy? Dex whispered in her ear.

"Rosalinde, focus! Your feet are all off," Erik said to her, and he pointed at her feet with his daggers.

She shook her head, ignored Dex, and firmed her grip on her daggers. "I'm sorry; my mind wandered off for a moment," she quickly apologised.

"No worries, but look closely, yes? You deflect the blade like this and simultaneously position the other for a riposte," he continued. He swiftly moved as if someone was attacking him. He deflected an invisible blade and punched his dagger in the air. "Now try on me, okay? But don't actually stab me, I don't want to be injured for the exam," he said with a wink. They both took their starting positions, and Rosalinde took a deep breath to steady herself. Erik jumped forward, pretending to cut her with the dagger. Rosalinde deflected the attack and swiftly punched the other hand forward, burying the dagger's tip in Erik's leather.

"Yes! That's it!" he enthusiastically yelled out. "And remember, if you fight someone like me, try to go for the vulnerable areas, exposed flesh, joints. See if there are already gaps in the armour." He continued to explain that she should aim for the wrist, elbows and knees to hinder the movements of agile and quick people and that it was best to disarm them as quickly as possible before "smacking her maul upon them".

They continued for another hour, and when they were done, Rosalinde was sweaty and tired. Bath and bed, she thought to herself as she unfastened her chin strip and took her helmet off with a big sigh. "Do you need help taking all that off?" Erik asked, looking at her armour. "Uh," she hesitated. She was wearing her gambeson underneath her armour, so she was not naked if she took her armour off. But the thought of Erik seeing her like that made her nervous. However, taking everything off by herself would take twice as long… "Yes, that would be very helpful, thank you," she replied with a gentle smile. She started to unfasten all the various buckles, straps and laces that held the armour together and then removed her gauntlets. Rosalinde instructed Erik on what parts to take off in what order, and he carefully removed each part and stored it away for her.

She felt exposed despite wearing several layers when everything had been taken off and stored away. She knew that her silhouette was a lot softer in this, not as imposing as with her armour on. There was an awkward silence between them. They looked at each other before Erik broke the silence: "I.. I will go over there to change," he stammered as he walked to the corner of the room. "You need help with that?" She immediately regretted her question. Of course, he doesn't need your help; he can just take those leathers off! Why are you so socially awkward! She thought to herself."Uh, I mean, you can, but mine is not as complicated as yours." He sounded a little confused. "Yeah, I was just being polite," Rosalinde quickly replied, turning around to give him some privacy. She heard him chuckle, followed by the rustling of clothes before he suddenly stood beside her in fitted leather pants and a loose shirt partially tucked in. "All done; you can look again," Erik grinned. They looked at each other and smiled. Another silence followed. "Well, that was… intense… the fighting, I mean," Erik continued awkwardly. "Yeah… I'm drained," Rosalinde replied as she rubbed her arm and shifted her weight from one leg to another. Why is this so awkward? She thought. "So... I guess we will go to bed? I mean, I go to mine, you to yours, not together," Erik stuttered, and his face turned red. "Yes, good, I will see you tomorrow," Rosalinde replied quickly. She turned and walked away.

That was a little painful, she heard in her head.

How much did you hear? She quickly asked.

Dex appeared next to her and walked along.

"More than I wanted to, Rosie. We really need to work on your people skills," he said.

"I know," she whispered, "he just makes me nervous sometimes."

"You like him, don't you?" Dex asked with a teasing voice.

"What? No," she hissed, "leave me alone!"

Dex laughed and disappeared while Rosalinde tried to walk as fast as possible to her room.